Don't Fear The Reaper

As part of its 2026/27 season, Meadow Brook Theatre presents the tale that inspired the 90s classic, Meet Joe Black. Written by multi-Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan and Peter Stone, experience a love story in post-WW1 Italy where the Reaper takes on the guise of a handsome stranger. But when he falls in love with the daughter of a dying Duke, he faces a stark choice: to return to his duties, or become mortal.

What Is The Story?

Looking forward to a vacation from his regular duties, Death enters the human world; however, a chance encounter with an ailing Duke, to whom he reveals his true persona, changes everything. When he falls in love with the duke's daughter, he faces a stark choice: to return to his duties, or live out his life with her and die a mortal.

The hauntingly romantic score is provided by Tony-winning composer Maury Yeston, who was behind the score of both Nine and the stage musical Titanic. The musical itself was based on a 1927 Italian play, La Morte in Vacanza by Albert Casella, which in turn inspired the 1934 pre-code Hollywood movie Death Takes A Holiday that starred Fredric March and Evelyn Venable as the two lovers.